The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-05-19
STATE TOPICS.
The Boston and Quebec Air Line
Railroad.
a Little Maine Road with Great 81
nanclaI Mlsfortunes.
The le-Actlng Liquor Law, and
What Is Said OF IL.

do you know what the incorporation Of
this Boston and Quebec Air Line means?"
said an old railroad man to a correspondent
oil the PRESS the other day. "Ill tell you
what 1t means" he continued without walt
ing Tor reply, 1T means that the Somerset
railroad, must wake up II II don't wan. to
ind itself worthless wreck. The Somerset
railroad, though only a short line running
from Oakland through Norridgewock to
North Anson, has had history as eventful
as many much larger roads, and mile for
mile has probably pulled as much money out
Of the purses Of its builders as any other
road in Maine. When the road was built.
Norridgewock. Anson and Embden took two
hundred thousand dollars worth Of Its stock
Then Norridgewock took S3OO0O and Anson
$4,000 Of its bonds. The contractor who
built the road took good share Of its secu-
rites In payment. and gentlemen connected
with the Dunn Edge Tool Company became
large holders Of its bonds. For some reason
or other the road never paid a cent. either as
dividend on its stock or interest ON It's bonds.
Then came the usual wind-up. The mort
gage was foreclosed. The two hundred
thousand dollars Of stock belonging to An
son, Embden and Norridgewock went by the
board, and with 1t the stock OF a lot Of
small holders, as well as the stock owned by
the contractor who put the line through. IThe
bonds became new stock then, but the divi-
dends6R- this new stock do not show up any
better than they did on the old. The legis-
lature has granted charters under ~Hnlen TINS
road might be made part Of a line from Wis
easset through Augusta to Oakland, thence
over the Somerset road to North Ans0n and
thence through solon, up the Kennebee val
ley TO junction with the International (the
Megantlel railroad, and possibly beyond
across the Maine border TO a junction with
the road which reaches south from Quebec.
The Legislature has given the charters for
such line
"But now comes In new move. VIC. S.
Keene, Of Lynn, Mass, has got around him
enough Maine men to form railroad eorpo-
ration under the general law. There are
Hon. A. X. Blxby, William Philbrlck, Chas.
A. Marston, William X. Shurtleff, and Isaac
Dyer, OF Skowhegan, Turner Buswell, OF
solon, Chandler Baker, Of Bingham, and
Omar Clark, Of Carratunk. But Keene holds
44s9 of the 1900 hundred dollar shares into
which the capital stock Is divided, and Is the
man who Is pushing the new road. For
whom he Is pushing it don't know. Per-
haps 1t Is the Maine Central, perhaps the
Boston Il Maine. But the idea Is, you see,
TO put a line Of railroad, Of feet 81 inches
began, up, through Madison, Solon,
Bingham, Moscow, Carratunk Plantation,
The Forks Plantation, Townships No. /,
Range 5, No. Range 8, No. Range 10Th
erwise known as Parlin Pond 20 a junction
with the International road somewhere this
side Of Jaekmantown Plantation. The
length OF this road would be about seventy
fiye miles. III the company should ever want
to build on towards Quebec they would have
to go about seventy-iye miles further to
meet the Quebec and Point Lewis road that
the projectors Oflthe Quebec and Wiscasset
line have hoped 10 reach. From S0lOn up 10
the location planned for the "Air Line" Is
over the route given to the Wlscasset and
Kennebec people by the Legislature, and 1t
Is right in the territory from which the Som
erset road gets It's traffic. III keene and his
associates should build their road from
SkOWhegan up, even If they went no further
than Bingham, 1t Is doubtful II the Somerset
road would be worth running The new
road would take from 1t the whole traffic Of
the Upper kennebee valley. The Somerset
road, In such q case. would have to 90 on TO
bingham to save Itself. have heard talk OF
bonding the road to build this extension, but
don't know who would buy the bonds. The
time was when the Maine Central would
have purchased the Somerset road. but that
time mas passed, 1t looks TO me a., though
the Somerset road Is likely TO 6nd itself In
poor shedding before long"
The fact that keene and his associates
nave formed corporation, however, does
not imply that they can build the road. They
are operating under the general law. and not
have hearing before the Railroad Commits
sioners, and get the approval of that body
before the line can be built. Then very like
lY the claims Of the Somerset people will be
heard, and very likely the intention Of the
corpOrators of the "BOston and Quebec Air
Line disclosed.
The opinion seems 10 be general among
men who know most about the liquor traffic
in this State that the new law. If half an
effort is made to enforce it, will drive the
rumsellers out. In those places where the
advantage Of the new law has been promptly
taken there are very dry times. Along the
Kennebec river, in both Somerset and Ken
nebec counties the rumseners have gone out
of business, Fairfield Is dry" almost conf
pletely so. So Is Augusta. In kennebec
county the panic OF the rumsellers Is gen.
eral. Most Of them have not dared Co ttko
out licenses. From this has resulted great
falling off in the number of licenses issued
Deputy Collector Murphy said last week
that total Of little over a hundred IL
censes had been taken out this year against
over three hundred taken out In an equal
| time last year. In the first collection diyi-
| sion, of which Portland. SacO and Blddeford
| are the largest places, % had been taken out.
| In the second division, of which lewiston
Auburn. HallOwell, Gardiner, Bath and
ROckland are the largest places, six had been
issued. In the third division, IN which Ban.
g0r, Belfast, Ellsworth, Calais, Eastport and
HoultOn are the largest places, II licenses
had been taken out, most Of these having
been issued to Bangor parties. The hotel
keepers, especially at the summer resorts.
are much troubled and have as yet taken out